Thursday 7/3 WOD

[rord]

Post your comments, questions, and time.

Hoo-Yah!!

[Jake4783]

Unfortunately, I have little to no practice with the hang squat snatch. Is it something that can easily be done ( I have some practice, hardly any), or should I substitute it with something else in order to prevent any kind of injury or mistake?

[jakryabre]

As Rx'd: 17:32

[danodec]

Hey fellas.

Good WOD, this is one I'd like to be able to do comfortably as prescribed, as it works on some weaknesses of mine. Scaled it down to 45#. The snatches felt good, like I should have bumped up the weight. I've had some recent instruction on them and I did the Burgener warm up, that helped get the motions ingrained in my head. t = 17:24.

On a side, we had a locker room chat afterwards about the word "WOD." Some people call it W-O-D. Personally I say it as a word, "wod," but one guy brought up a point I never thought of, saying, "Ooo man that just irks me, sounds like 'wad' like I'm gonna shoot my wad! Stand back, this might sting a little!" He's pretty ridiculous.

[deadly nedly]

Unfortunately, I have little to no practice with the hang squat snatch. Is it something that can easily be done ( I have some practice, hardly any), or should I substitute it with something else in order to prevent any kind of injury or mistake?

Jake: Welcome to the wonderful world of Olympic Lifting. I have a serious hardon for oly lifts and kettlebells these days. Some version of a squat snatch can be done by anyone with the flexibility and strength to do an overhead squat. I'm copying a link to Camp Pendleton's page which has the "official" crossfit oly coach -- Coach B -- explaining some basics of Olympic Lifting, he's also quite humorous at times. I love this ****. "DO YOU HAVE THE HOOK GRIP?!!?!!" Also hit up the Crossfit site and youtube to check out more snatching, cleaning and jerking. Look for similarities between these movements... oftentimes, finding similarities between the known and unknown can bridge a gap that would take a s***load more effort to overcome if you had started from scratch.

If you're absolutely new to oly lifting, I will suggest that you work the Burgener Warmup (google, or watch the videos on the link I copied), snatches, squat snatches and whatever else with a broomstick or PVC pipe. Oly lifts are extremely technique-based, and as such, it is very likely that somewhere in the world, a 16 year old girl is snatching more than you, or me. As discouraging as that may sound, oly lifting has NO substitute, even kettlebells (which are close in many aspects) have a different feeling and produce a different adaptation. It is VERY worth your while to learn, and become expert in this lifting method. Watch vids, do some homework, and throw some **** around. But start with a broomstick, I still learn about my technique when I play with a dowel mindfully.

Anyway... I did todays WOD but I didn't time it. I was hungover and didn't sleep last night -- I knew I wasn't going to blow anyone's nuts off with my time. Now I'm drunk again! YEEEHAWW It's the 4th of ****ing July damnit. Well 3rd is close enough for me and Captain Morgan.. I'll be hitting the swim later after a nap.


http://www.crossfitwarehouse.com/newsite/blog/

(scroll to June 30th, 2008)

If I were your coach, assuming your overhead squat looked good, I'd scale this workout so it was:

10 quarter-squat jumps holding 30# dumbells (65# muscle snatches would be better, if you've learned that, but if you've learned that and can OHS, you can probably do as RX'd...for today, dip-jumps with 30s would be OK)
25 overhead squats with 65# barbell
20 KTE
5 rounds for time

With strong encouragement to work your oly lifts with a broomstick or pipe so you can do it as rx'd in the future.


Sorry for the giant post i'm drunk.

[da_runner]

Thanks for the info...

My guy Joe is gone, so I have no experience with the oly lifts.

I'll follow your recommendations and report back.

:)

[da_runner]

Nope still very clueless on how to execute the hang squat snatch.

[deadly nedly]

haha runner...its better if you have a coach or at least a vid. but ill do my best through text.

You start from a high hang... that is at roughly waist level. The end of a deadlift, only you are holding the bar with a snatch grip. Look at the seminar vids for many demos of a snatch grip, make sure you're hooking it too, so you don't throw the bar at a soccer mom and orphan some poor kiddos. Dip down (to a quarter squat), like for a push press, and viciously triple-extend (ankles, knees and hips.... like for a push press) to drive the bar upwards. The bar becomes weightless due to momentum. At the point that it does become weightless, you pull yourself underneath the bar (upright row style, only with MANY other variables to contend with), to receive it in the very bottom of an overhead squat. Stand up. Done. This is more technical than it sounds, but at 65# you may be able to muscle it. I don't really recommend it though, it will just ingrain bad habits.

If you don't feel like hopping around, following some moron's (me) vague text instructions, and the videos aren't doing it for you, just do the WOD I described and it will produce a similar response until Joe gets back in town and can demo it for you.

This is a video of a dude showing recognizable form on a hang squat snatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szuji0XSrwc&feature=related

This guy is okay but doesn't extend his hips enough before he pulls under. EXTREMELY common problem, along with bending the elbows early, lifting with feet too wide, and landing with feet too wide. Those are the top 4 beginner problems, period. Once those are squared away, your problem is bar path, period. He ****ed up his 2nd attempt because his feet were too wide on the "jumping" part of the lift, and/or his turnover (pull under/3rd pull) wasn't stocky enough. Watch his feet... they don't move at all from the lifting position to the landing position. When landing, they should move out roughly the width of his foot and turn out a bit, but his feet are already there. He is sacrificing bar height and speed by lifting with his feet outside his hips. Feet need to be UNDER YOUR HIPS to make your hips go up. Imagine that! This is narrower than you think.... narrower than he thinks, anyways. Also, the more "directly under your hips" your stance, the higher you can "deadlift" the weight, which of course will give you more time to get your *** underneath the bar in the receiving position (OHS).

For contrast, check out Dimas' feet during these full snatches, especially on his 2nd lift, even though his OHS is a little shady cause he's lifting like a billion kilos, also shows a nice shot of the hook grip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAdLlHorM3M&feature=related

As you increase your load in the olympic lifts, or (during this WOD) become more fatigued, your "window of opportunity" (the weightless window) gets smaller and lower, so making sure your feet are under your hips and your hands are wide are the easiest checks to make in order to get the bar as high as possible before you actually have to pop it, pull under, and receive. That will probably make ZERO sense until you already understand the point I'm trying to make.

When you're checking your form (assuming your OHS is solid):
1. How's my grip? Wide enough? Too wide?
2. How's my 1st stance? My lifting/jumping stance...are my feet directly under my hips? DN said they would feel "too narrow" at first. Is he full of **** or what?
3. I probably need to extend my hips more before I pull under.
4. how's my landing? is it too wide?
5. I'm probably bending my elbows too early.

If all that checks out... find a coach and talk about your bar path, even though he'll probably still want to talk about your feet, hips and elbows. In the mean time, watch the Coach B videos, they are gold.

Good luck bro.

[da_runner]

Thanks DN,

I'll get it done in a little while.

[mhlane]

42yom / 148

22:44 as rx'd

Just getting back from a week off and it showed

Post - 1.5 pood waiter walking lunges and one arm swings with hand switch at the top.

[Jake4783]

Thanks for the information deadly, it helps a lot. I do have some background in olympic lifting. I did it a lot when I played football, as is common in most football teams haha. However that was two years ago, and my technique is way off. That and I have never done the hang squat snatch. Anyway, in summary, I figured it out am much appreciative, and finished in 17:15. However, it just did not feel right, so I will keep practicing. Again, I appreciate your guidance.

[deadly nedly]

My pleasure Jake, it's the only way I can repay those who have guided me.


and for all those interested... this is a very short vid of what I consider to be damn near perfect form.. he catches it a little too far back, but you're really splitting hairs there... Just means that with a perfect lift he could have gotten even more that day. It's Dimas again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12bczFB2X-4&feature=related

[da_runner]

Thanks DN

Not done as Rx'd I unloaded to just the bar. I got so wrapped up in the 2 exercises I forgot the KTE but the gym was closing.

i got only 20 of them

Damn... :D:D

BTW the thing I learned was this last night. Like DN said I had to experience it. When doing the snatch, you have to get under the bar in a quick motion. So what that meant to me was:

I bring the weight up, I hop forward, at the SAME time, to get under the bar.

If you don't it is a muscle tweaker, I had pain in one of my legs, not quite a groin pull, but damn uncomfortable.

DN said it, OLY lifts are really about form. If like me, and you never ever did them, study the videos carefully, get a trainer to demo, read the text provided. If not some gung ho young stud is going to **** himself up.


My .02

[scskowron]

m/19/5'8"/147#

As rx'd with 67# on bar
16:05

I love light snatches and OHS; I tend to rip right through them. But when it comes to heavy snatches and OHS I tend to fall over backward...

Watching 300 right before this definitely gave me some motivation to kill this WOD though.

Three days off from work...time to hit it hard this weekend in honor of my country!

Hey fellas.
On a side, we had a locker room chat afterwards about the word "WOD." Some people call it W-O-D. Personally I say it as a word, "wod," but one guy brought up a point I never thought of, saying, "Ooo man that just irks me, sounds like 'wad' like I'm gonna shoot my wad! Stand back, this might sting a little!" He's pretty ridiculous.

First time I trained out with GMT-NYC (he was the first guy I actually met who did Crossfit) he started talking about 'wads' ... took me a couple minutes to realize what he meant haha. I always thought of them as 'W-O-D's'

[jdoleac]

I've been recovering from food poisoning the last few days and have been unable to do ANY workouts and it pisses me off. But I'll be getting back on in a week or so as I'm going out of town in a couple of days.

Ironically, the time off from training has allowed some tweaks and stings to heal themselves up so I guess that's a plus.

[wcor]

My time today wasn't that great, I wanted to concentrate on form. Its slowly coming but I still need some work.

Time:20:39

[deadly nedly]

I highly recommend watching that Coach B seminar on CF Pendleton's page. I also highly recommend becoming extremely familiar with the OHS before snatching anything besides a broomstick.

The movements are not dangerous. However a lack of flexibility and crappy form ARE dangerous. This is always true. Work the bottom of the OHS and keep that active shoulder.. play with broomsticks, and watch the seminar so you know how to play with them correctly and effectively.

Good conversation starter at work too, doing sots presses with a mop.

Runner (and probably most other folks who are staying quiet) - If you have to jump forward to recieve the bar, you are throwing the bar forward. With heavy weight you would miss this lift. This is probably happening because you're not extending your hips enough, and/or not keeping the bar close enough, and/or not driving through your heels for long enough... coming up on your toes too soon... those are typical mistakes that will cause folks to miss forward. BROOMSTICK! When you extend the hips 95% of the way instead of 100%, the S curve of the bar path (which may be very exaggerated for you newbies) is in a slightly horizontal movement when you release control of the bar to Sir Isaac Newton, and if you don't put that extra 5% elevation on it, then another touch with your calves (while still keeping your weight back.. good luck).. you will miss forward because the bar has too much horizontal travel for you to pop directly down. Watch Dimas, note the lack of any forward travel of his feet between his "jump" and "land."

[da_runner]

Yes sir.

:D

I will do that the next time those bastards are thrown at me. The work out I did incorrectly was pretty tough.

I have admiration for you guys that do it well.

[lrsd82nd]

as rx'd: 18:23

then did 1000 jumps on my weighted jump rope in 8:37